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Cleaned and rebuilt for the 4th time and now no go.

  • Thread starter Thread starter spyug
  • Start date Start date
S

spyug

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I'm still working to get the 83 /550 back on its feet so to speak. Thinking that I had once again managed to gunk up the carbs after last weeks failed road test, I cleaned and rebuilt the carbs for the 4th time since March. Instead of getting better, its getting worse.

Since I had dunked them 3 times now, I opted this last time to blow out the passages with spray and compressed air. I did pull the jets and emulsion tubes and soaked them again, however.

The carbs were bench synched and air mixture screws set to 2.5 turns out. Running a stock airbox with all boots in good shape. I have not, as yet, replaced the intake boot o-rings. I have a new (4 month old) battery fully charged at 12.9 volts. I am running a high capacity inline fuel filter and 5/8" hose, gas is fed from an auxiliary tank (I/V bottle with inline filter). I have good spark on all plugs, the bike cranks easily and there is lots of compression with valves having been adjusted about 1 month ago.

Any of the 3 times in the past that I put on clean carbs in this configuration, the bike started up and idled at around 1400 rpm after a minute or so of choke with no major effort. Today I had to crank it for a good 5 minutes before any indication of running. Once it caught it again idled at around 1400 but only kept running for a minute or so more then died. It could not be restarted.

It is now appearing like I have a gas lock, if such a thing exists, as it does not appear to be getting gas.

I am thoroughly stumped....once again it seems:(.

I have no idea now what the problem is, the only thing that may have a bearing, I suppose are the inline filters but they do not seem to have been a problem before.

I'm trolling for thoughts, once again folks. Any ideas?

Cheers,
spyug

PS, I am going to try without the filters
 
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That little 550 is really giving you a run for your money......

but I was gong to suggest going back to basics, put the original fule line on, no filters, maybe even your original tank as well, but....

fill the tank with some gas, and let it drain out into a container, see what is in the container, assuming it's clean to begin with, at least if the gas is clean in there we can assume no junk in the tank...and use it...

perhpas the fuel lines your using are too long, kinked, pinched, etc....just addiing things to look for.



I swear, I didn't do anything to the bike behind your back.....you didn't leave me alone long enough for me to do anything....LOL

lunch was great by the way...


is the vacuum hose on correctly, hwo about trying it on prime.....I know you know all these things, I am just thinking out loud.....

worse case, strap that puppy into the trailer, bring her to my place and I will wrench on it a bit.....you can take the 750 and go ride for a while......



on second thought......yaaaa that could work as well....

.
 
hjfisk said:
Has your problem stemmed back to a bad fuel petcock?
Click to expand...

I don't think this time.....didn't he say he was using his IV bottle ?

I am running a high capacity inline fuel filter and 5/8" hose, gas is fed from an auxiliary tank (I/V bottle with inline filter). I
Click to expand...
 
I would look at the tubing and at the petcock
do the tests and assure there is enough vacuum to draw the diaphraghm open.

Assuming your needle valves are leak proof then try running it on prime for a bit. It is after all the same as an open tap.
 
spyug said:
I am running a high capacity inline fuel filter and 5/8" hose, gas is fed from an auxiliary tank (I/V bottle with inline filter).
Click to expand...

Maybe it's getting too much gas with that 5/8" line? :-k


Seriously, though, is your IV bottle vented? If not, it just might not be flowing.

.
 
Put a shallow container under a carb. Open its drain screw. How much fuel do you get? If the answer is 'not much', you know for sure that you have a fuel delivery problem, which should have a simple (not necessarily easy) solution.

At this time of the year, I'd be half-tempted to gas up the thousand and cruise up there to take a look myself. It's a mere 746 miles, and if you're anywhere near Sioux Narrows, I'd know the way by heart.
 
Not getting fuel?
I hope it's not something like a kinked fuel line. You know black rubber fuel line likes to kink at the bend, after you put the tank down, and warm up the bike, (sneaky).
Try clear vinyl hose, it don't kink and you can see the gas inside.
Or bend a brake line or copper pipe for the bend and use hose for the ends.
 
Well somehow I got it to go but I'm now having difficulty getting it to hold an idle which makes it extremely difficult to get a carb synch sorted. I've been at it for a couple of hours and not getting much of anywhere. Anytime I touch the synch screw it dies.

At this point, I am going back to the beginning, loosening off the throttle connection and backing off the idle adjustment screw, then will try to get a basic idle going by dialling in the idle aduster just a hair. If I can get it to idle at 1500 to 1900 I should be able to fine tune the synch.

I've never had this much trouble trying to get a set of carbs going. It is super frustrating and I'm really not sure what to try next.

As a side note, the hose and filter are fine and it is getting gas so I've sort of discounted those as a problem at the moment.

thanks for the input folks, I'll let you know when I get it.

Spyug
 
Well somehow I got it to idle and was able to synch the carbs. They are not set 100% more like 97% but its so darn hard to adjust the screw as its right under the backbone of the frame.

While it does run and idle now I'm stil not pleased as its not exactly as I'd like it and there is a bit of hesitation on throttle up and fall back to idle. I didn't get to ride yet so I'll reserve comments until I see how it performs.

After all the fuss and fiddling on this i think I'm going totake the spare set from the parts bike and clean and rebuild them...just in case.

The real sad thing about this situation is that I now do not trust this bike to not go go wonky again and stand me somewhere. I have a very strong feeling that it is not really sorted. The old virago I had did that to me several times and I don't want to deal with that again.

I'll ride it tomorrow and see how it does.

Standby for an update.

Cheers,
spyug
 
Is your hesitation just a CV carb lag issue?
I am not sure about the idle screw setting but mine works ok and does not bog at 2.5 turns out.
 
Remove Sparkplugs,inspect and clean or replace wclean/good/or new plugs.Open up carb idle circuit..all 4 screws...4-5 turns up and try start up cycle.you can lower them later.. if needed as fine tuning dictates.you will hurt nothing.My GS 550 ES likes a little gas to go with the air.EPA emmissions rules of era:bikes could barely run correctly when new,very dangerous to have bike stall out in traffic..try giving her some more idle circuit gas.
 
Those carbs have a lot of internal passages drilled at angles and plugged, making it very hard to clean inside compared to most carbs without the siamesed slides.

Hard starting: double check the starter jet circuit is clear (the brass tube that sticks down into the bowl. check the brass tube is clear and will sqirt carb cleaner fluid out the top of the carb throats if you hold the carb cleaner tube up against the brass tube. Make sure that the hole (pocket, well) in the float bowl is clear of gunk (I use a small twist drill and turn by hand to clean it). Make sure the hole between the main chamber of the float bowl and the well is clear and that carb cleaner squirts through it if you squirt down the well.

Lack of rev/lack of power: There is a triangular shaped rubber plug on the air intake side of the carb, about 1/2-3/4" inch wide that goes between the two carb throats. Make sure it goes into the BOTTOM triangular hole. It fits fine into the top hole and looks right installed there, but that will totally mess up how the vacuum diaphragm works.

Long shot answers, but maybe one of them will help. Good luck!
 
I'll try to post a pic tomorrow. Too hard to do from my iPad.

Ok, posted in this related thread by mistake:
showthread.php
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=197839
 
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